Movable holding device for containers



July 11, 1939.

AS. MOFFAT MOVABLE HOLDING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Filed April 27, 1937 '2 sheetssheet 1 LL! IHI v yi m/ 7 July 11, 1939. a M F 2,165,567

- I MOVABLE HOLDING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Filed April 27, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 jag- Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATES MOVABLE HOLDING DEVICE FOR CONTAINERS Albert S. Mofi'at, Watertown, Mass, assignor to United Water Cooler Service," Inc., Cambridge, Mas's., a corporation Application April 27,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a device to hold and move containers from one position to another. The main object of my invention has been to provide an improved device for receiving a large 5 container or bottle of liquid in a loading position near the floor and lifting said container by means of my device to upright position where it can be held and said liquid withdrawn, after which it can readily be returned to loading position. Another object has been to simplify the operative parts of such a device so that the manner of loading and moving to upright position will be obvious to an unskilled person, and may be accomplished conveniently with a minimum of time and effort. Still another object is to so construct my device that whether in loading position or upright position, as well as when the container is being moved from one to the other the container is held firmly and safely. A further object has been to make my device attractive in appearance, economical to manufacture, and .at the same time strong and durable enough to last indefinitely and to withstand the rigors of shipping and delivering it.

The foregoing and other objects which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, may be accomplished by a construction, combination and operative arrangement of parts such as is disclosed by the drawings and specifi- 30 cation. The nature of theinvention is such as to render it susceptible to various changes and modifications, and, therefore, I am not to be limited to said disclosure; but am entitled to all such changes therefrom as fall within the scope of my claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of my movable holding device for containers, showing the container in upright position ready for the with- 40 drawal of the liquid, the dotand dash lines indicating an extra container resting on the bottom pan of my device.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of my de-' vice similar to Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of my device, the dot and dash lines indicating various positions the container is moved to on'its way from loading to upright position. I

Figure 4 is a plan view ofv my device without the container, illustrating the container securing means in closed position, the dot and dash lines indicating the position of said securing means in open or receptive position.

As illustrated, my device has a supporting frame In to which a bottom tray H is attached. Said tray has sides l2, one side, which I term the back side, being partly open as at l3 to permit a container or bottle B to extend beyond said side partly into said opening but is not large enough for the bottle to pass through it, as illus- 1937, Serial No. 139,173

trated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. Said frame 'liii has legs I4 which continue horizontally to form two topside bars l5, between which extends a supporting cross bar I! which prevents the container B from moving beyond upright po- 'sition as well as providing a support for it.

A movable holder for said container B is pivotally mounted to opposite legs M of said frame If! by pins 2| which extend through said legs and through wings 22, there being a spacer 23 between a said wing and a said leg to insure free movement of said wings 22 as the container and said holder 20 are moved from loading position to upright position, and vice versa. Extending between and fastened to said wings 22 is a metal strap or bar 24. Fixedto said wings 22 by rivets 25 is a bottle rack 26 to confine said container B, consisting of upright bands 21 to which said rivets 25 are fastened, and a top band or rim 28 towhich is fastened a combined handle and support member 30 which has an outwardly extending offset part 3| that has an extension handle portion 33 extending beyondsaid rim 28. Said offset part 3| also provides a cavity 34 into which a portion of said bottle B is first placed when my device is being loaded, as illustrated, in Figure 3 of the drawings. Said offset part 3! also provides a ground support for said bottle rack 26, being so positioned relatively to said frame I4 of my device that it will touch the floor, thereby terminating the swinging movement of said rack 26 before the bottle B strikes and breaks against said supporting frame I0. Aspring tension member 32 fastened to said frame It] bears against said bottle rack 26 when it is in upright position to prevent said holder ,2ll'and bottle B from involuntarily returning to loading position should it be accidentally pushed in that direction.

A movable clamp or colla'r 35 is opened to receive the neck of said container B, as illustrated in the dot and dash' lines in Figure 4 of the drawings, and is then closed aroundit before my device is moved to upright position. Said clamp 35 has'two movable arms 36 which are spaced apart to provide an opening 31 into which the bottle 'neck extends. Said arms 36 are pivotally fastened asat 38 to said strap 24 and each has a free endor finger 39 to one of which a fastening member All. is pivotally fastened asat 4|. Said fastening member has a slot'O therein intermediate its ends, and when said armsj36 are moved towards eachother the said finger 39,0f one said arm '36 is inserted into 'said slotO thereby fastening said arms,36 together and maintaining saidclamp 135 in closed position.

Said arms 36 are provided with small rubber bumpers 42 on which the bottle B comfortably rests when in inverted position. To withdraw the liquid from said bottle B a faucet 43 is used which is inserted into the neck of said bottle.

In the use of my device, I have illustrated three different positions, a, b and c, in Figure 3 of the drawings. The said holder 20 starts at down or loading position shown in Figure 3 of the drawings, the clamp 35 then being in the open position illustrated by the dot and dash lines in Figure 4 of the drawings, and the container B is inserted into said cavity 34 in said member 30, which is illustrated by position a, and the neck portion placed into the opening 31 between said clamp arms 36. The bottle is next moved out of said cavity 34 to level position and the said clamp arms36 drawn together and the fastening member 40 applied, which is illustrated by position b. Said holder 20 is then rotatably lifted, as illustrated by position 0, to upright position if, illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, with the container in vertical, inverted position ready to have the liquid withdrawn therefrom. When ready to refill said bottle B the spring tension member 32 is held away from said bottle rack 26 and said holder 20 is swung downwardly t0 loading position, preferably by grasping said handle portion 33 and pulling on it, whereupon said clamp 35 is opened and said container withdrawn. Said spring tension member 32 may be dispensed with, if desired, as it is a safety member only, to insure against accidental movement of said holder 20 to ground position.

What I claim is:

1. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame embodying a tray at the lower portion thereof adapted to support a said container and having an upstanding side member, a portion of said side member being broken away to thereby provide an opening therein for a said container to extend thereinto, and a holder adapted to receive said container movably mounted to said frame and being horizontally adjacent said tray when said device is in loading position.

2. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame, and a holder adapted to receive said container movably mounted to said frame, said holder having a supporting member for said container on which said container rests when said device is in loading position, said supporting member having an offset portion which extends lower than the remainder of said supporting member, said offset portion having a handle portion extending laterally outward beyond the remainder of said supporting member.

3. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame having a cross member, a holder adapted to receive said container having a cross bar spaced from and parallel with said cross member, a clamp member movably connected to said cross bar, said cross member and said cross bar being so positioned relative to said clamp member that a portion of said clamp member rests on said cross member when said holder is in upright position.

4. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame, and a holder adapted to receive said container movably mounted to said frame having a clamping member, said clamping member having two arms pivotally fastened to said holder and adapted to be moved from open to closed position at will, each said arm having a finger at the end thereof, and fastening mleans on one said finger adapted to be moved to position to hold said arms together when said clamping member is in closed position.

5. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame, and a holder adapted to receive a container movably mounted to said frame, said holder having members at two sides of said holder so mounted to said frame as to permit movement of said side members, a cross bar connected to and extending from one said side member to the other, a clamping member having two arms, each said arm being pivotally connected to said cross bar and adapted to be moved laterally from open to closed position at will, said arms being so formed and positioned relative to each other that there is a space between them to accommodate a portion of said container when said clamping member is in either closed or open position.

6. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame, and a holder adapted to receive a container movably mounted to said frame, said holder having a cross bar, a clamping member having two arms, each said arm being pivotally connected at one end portion to said cross bar and adapted to be moved from open to closed position at will, fastening means at another end portion of a said arm, said supporting frame having a cross member in spaced relation to said cross bar, said arms being of such size relative to said space between said cross bar and said cross member that when said holder is in upright position the end portion of each said arm opposite said first-mentioned end portion rests on said cross member with said fastening means extending beyond.

7. A holding device for a container comprising a supporting frame having a plurality of leg members spaced apart and two top members connected thereto and spaced apart, and a holder adapted to receive said container movably mounted to and between two of said legs, said frame having a cross member extending between said two top members so positioned as to contact with and prevent movement of said holder beyond upright position, said holder having two side members adjacent said two legs, means extending from and connecting said two legs to said side members and permitting their movement relative to said two legs, a cross bar extending between said two side members, a clamp member having two arms, each said arm being pivotally mounted on said cross bar and having a free end adapted to be moved towards and away from each other at will, said holder having a supporting member which is at the lower portion thereof when said holder is in loading position, and a rack to confine said container extending from said supporting member to the upper portion of said holder.

8. A holding device for a container, comprising a frame, a holder adapted to receive a container and means to secure the container in the holder, said holder including an end member, two upright members secured at one end to said end member and being pivoted at their other ends to said frame to swing in .a vertical plane, and a cross bar extending between and secured to said upright members intermediate their ends, said means including two arms pivoted at one end to said cross bar to move laterally, and a fastener pivoted to the free end of one of said arms whereby one end portion of said container may be secured between the arms.

' ALBERT S. MOFFAT. 

